Chechen suicide blast

Znamenskoye, Russia

At least 50 people were killed this week when suicide bombers drove a truckload of explosives into a government building in a Russian-controlled city in the north of Chechnya. The blast obliterated the building and eight nearby houses, leaving a crater 30 feet deep and littering the area with the body parts of women and children. It was the deadliest rebel attack since Chechens voted two months ago to remain a province of Russia with limited autonomy. “Such actions are intended to derail the political settlement,” said President Vladimir Putin. “We can’t allow this and we won’t allow it.” Two recent wars in the Muslim-populated republic, one of them launched by Putin, killed more than 100,000 civilians and turned half the population into refugees.